Easter on the West Coast

Hi Everyone!

This post will be a work in progress for the next few days as I get more photos uploaded (it takes a while) and think of more things to write about. Kiara and I decided to make one long post for our vacation, rather than breaking each activity into a different post. Pictures for each will be included.

Travel Plans
We had a pretty busy break travel-wise. Our itinerary was as follows;

Thursday Night; Bus Dunedin to Christchurch
Friday Morning ; Bus Christchurch to Greymouth via Arthur's Pass in the Southern Alps
Friday Afternoon; Bus Greymouth to Punakaiki along one of the Top 10 World's Best Scenic Ocean Drives
-We then spent three nights in Punakaiki exploring all the area had to offer.
Monday Early Afternoon; Bus from Punakaiki to Greymouth
Monday Afternoon/Evening; TranzAlpine Train Greymouth to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass (Under it this time...more on that a little later...)
Tuesday Morning; Bus Christchurch to Dunedin

Whew...I can't imagine how tired Kiara must have been after 5 weeks of travel like that in Europe!

Punakaiki-Camping and Beach combing at the "Holiday Park"
After getting of the bus in Punakaiki, Kiara and I found a great campground where we could put up our tent. We would have liked to find a frontage road next to the beach and camped there, but there are some pretty hefty fines associated with "freedom camping" in parts of New Zealand, and judging by the "No Camping or Overnight Stopping" signs situated around the beach, we thought it best not to take our chances. The holiday park we stayed at was located right on the beach, making it easy for us to check out the sunset, take a walk, or (Kiara would say most importantly) collect rocks, shells, and driftwood. I especially enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we were surrounded by forested mountains and sandstone cliffs and formations wherever you looked. (More pictures are coming for this one so keep checking!)

Punakaiki Caverns
Kiara and I noticed the sign pointing out the caverns on our way to the campground, and figured that they wouldn't go back very far, as it was a free attraction maintained by the Department of Conservation...no large price tag, guides, wetsuits, or helmets and headlamps like our previous cave experiance. While the caverns weren't as large (or as wet) as the cave Kiara and I went to as part of our orientation, they were surprisingly large, and contained a few side caves we were able to explore. Fortunately, I had brought a flashlight (Yes, thats where it went Dad...I promise I will bring it back...) or we wouldn't have gotten very far back as it got dark FAST. At one point, Kiara was able to check out an upper level of the cave, complete with glow worms, only after I "threw" her up a wall we were not able to climb for lack or hand and footholds. The sign outside the cave said that there were numerous fossils to be found in the walls, but because we only had one flashlight we weren't able to see any. However, there were some cool formations, small streams, and miniature waterfalls leaking from the roof of the cave that we were able to see great with the light we had.

Dolomite Point-Pancake rocks and blow holes
Dolomite point is the main attraction in this area, though most visitors are just passing through on there way to or from larger cities farther north. Dolomite point has been featured in a few movies, and after seeing the scenery for ourselves, it was easy to understand why. The larger than life flax plants and the amazing rock formations seemed as though they were transplanted out of "Jurassic Park" . We actually visited Dolomite Point on three different occasions to try to catch the blow holes and surge pool at their peak.

Tramping

Kiara and I also had the opportunity to hike along the Inland Pack Track, a series of river valley trails that began only a short distance from our campground. The day began quite damp, but the clouds and mist in the mountains made for some great scenery. The inland Pack Track is meant to be completed as a 2-3 day overnight hike, though there are trails connecting back to civilization that allow the entire track to be completed as three day or half day trips. Kiara and I started with the Pororari River Track, which took us about an hour and a half, before we were thwarted by a river crossing which was a little flooded due to the rain we had had the night before. (Little did we know that another river crossing was waiting for us later...we would not escape with dry feet!) From there, we backtracked to the Punakaiki River Track connection, which we had noticed on the way to the river crossing. From there we walked up...and up...and up the small mountains/large hills (one is visible in the background of the picture with our tent in it) dotted throughout the area. We really didn't know where we were or where we would end up at the conclusion of the tramp as we were beginning to doubt the "Punakaiki Village via Punakaiki River Track" sign marking the beginning of trail we were on...but we really didn't care as the day had cleared up and the scenery was fantastic. Eventually, we did make it back to the main road (after a river crossing...Kiara thought the water was "cold", Caleb thought it was "refreshing") and had a short (~2km) walk back the the campground once we made it to the main road. At this point, the sun was out, the sky was cloudless, and we were both HOT, and ready for a walk on the beach with our feet in the water to cool down.

Southern Alps (Sorry it has taken me so long to get this posted!)
Running down the middle of the South Island of New Zealand is the mountain range known as the Southern Alps. Most notably, the Southern Alps contain Mt. Cook, the tallest point in New Zealand, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Though we were not far enough south to see either of the Southern Alps' highlights, we were treated to some spectacular scenery as we passed through Arthur's Pass, one of the three main passes through the mountains.

From Christchurch to Greymouth, we decided to save some money by taking the bus, figuring that the scenery on the train would be the same each way. In hindsight, the bus was a good idea even without the finacial incentive. While Arthur's Pass is a "low" area between mountain peaks, "low" is a relative term when in the Southern Alps. By the time we had reached the pass, the road, other cars, and the scenery were all obscured by clouds! Unfortunatly, this made for lousy pictures, but the experiance was memorable in and of itself. The bus ride was somewhat like a (slightly) slow rollercoaster. Along the way there were numerous hairpin turns (on the side of a mountain), steep climbs that must have frustrated the drivers behind us, and long descents that must ruin the brakes within a few trips.

A side note-Kiara and I were both very tired from the night before as we didn't get to the campground until after 11:30, after which we had to set up the tent, snag a few hours of sleep, and then walk 6 km at 5:30 in the morning to the bus stop. When I tried to wake Kiara up as the bus started to climb into the mountains (she had fallen asleep on the bus), I received what I believe is called "The Eye" before she fell back asleep! Luckily, she woke up shortly later on her own so she did not miss too much.

The train ride back from Greymouth, though it passed many of the same areas, was much different. Elevation change was nearly nonexistent as the train took a much more circuitous route, winding its way though the mountain valleys. Though the train also took Arthur's Pass to cross the central mountains, the track ran underneath the mountains for nearly 15 min. instead of climbing into the clouds. Apart from the long tunnel, as the air would be too sooty to breath, Kiara and I spent the duration of the four hour trip on the viewing platform admiring the scenery flying by. We hope you enjoy the sampling of pictures!




Take care.

CEL